Guardian journalist Dilpazier Aslam, sacked for being a member of
Muslim group Hizb ut Tahrir, is to appeal the decision.
The
NUJ chapel agreed that a representative should be present at Aslam’s
appeal against dismissal but asked him to repudiate a 2002
Hizb ut Tahrir leaflet that accused Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
of a massacre in the Jenin refugee camp.
Aslam was taken on as a
trainee under The Guardian’s diversity programme and had his contract
terminated when he was “outed” as a member of Hizb ut Tahrir on the
internet and in an Independent on Sunday report. He had written news
stories about the London bombings and a comment piece that was seen by
some as being overly sympathetic to the cause of the bombers.
Hizb
ut Tahrir claims its aim is to revive the Islamic caliphate across
current national borders through political means. The Guardian said it
sacked Aslam because he refused to leave the group after executives
found Hizb ut- Tahrir had “promoted violence and anti-semitic material
on its website”.
Aslam’s exit from the paper coincided with news
that executive editor Albert Scardino is to step down. When asked if
the two exits were linked, Scardino said: “It’s very much an ongoing
case – I think it best that I don’t say anything about it because of
that.”
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